Comments on: Captions vs subtitles

By: Joe Clark

Joe Clark — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:04:30 +0000

Sign languages cannot be captioned. Only spoken languages (and sound effects, etc.) can be captioned.

This means, of course, that incidental vocalizations uttered by sign-language users can be captioned. And, in theory, must.

It also means that if you’re running a sign-language video and have an interpreter audible (or have cleaned up an interpreter’s translation and have an actor reading a script), you have to caption that. (Even if the translation is incorrect, BTW.)

By: James James

James James — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 10:16:36 +0000

Nicolas

Good luck with your ASL — but if you can squeeze it — try having a peek at:

http://signwriting.org/

This is proof positive that there IS a written form of sign languge, not just American Sign Language, but virtually ANY country’s sign language. I was totally fascinated by it and it’s Well worth a visit.

By: Nicholas Scyoc

Nicholas Scyoc — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 07:59:55 +0000

I think this is interesting because subtitles can be interesting because the fact that a word might mean two different things and someone who can not hear might not be able to understand the context of what was said without captions. Well I am taking elementary (ASL) 1
and American Sign Language is put together doing that all the time. They use the same sign for two different words. The cool thing is that they are similar words most of the time.

By: James James

James James — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 15:21:56 +0000

and as if purely by coincidence…

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6993326.stm

Tada

By: James James

James James — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 00:54:49 +0000

I have read Joe’s stuff and I wonder why he doesn’t follow through on his own logic as regards the difference between subtitles and captions.

He asserts that BSL cannot be captioned: http://joeclark.org/access/captioning/bpoc/SL.html

Well, in the proper order of things it [BSL] first needs to be subtitled just as would be the case for French, for example because as Joe himself says, foreign languages primarily need to be subtitled and thereafter they could be captioned.

Okay I accept that some languages are harder to translate than others but that does not mean to say that BSL is _*Not*_ a “language”, per se simply because it is difficult to translate: the fact is that it CAN be translated – and therefore subtitled (and as such, “captioned”).

By: Stuart Johnston

Stuart Johnston — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 11:15:36 +0000

It is a point that has to be made because it isn’t that obvious. We went through a similar process at Graphico with accessible web alternatives for one of our customers. We ended up applying Ofcom standards of audio description of XHTML. It works.

http://www.crossedbrowser.co.uk/?p=13